"Damn you, Zhang Liao! You have betrayed me! Betrayed me!" Cao Cao's anger flared as he cursed loudly.
The Xu Zhou campaign had three main objectives for Cao Cao. First, to capture and kill Lü Bu; second, to conquer the entire Xu Zhou territory; and third, to gain the support of Xu Zhou's influential families to stabilize the region.
Now, just as victory was within reach, Cao Cao found himself in this situation because of his overestimation of Zhang Liao. He had hoped to win Zhang Liao over, but instead, his decision had led to this chaos.
Cao Cao was furious, but he couldn't afford to dwell on it for long. The situation was urgent, and the focus now had to be on survival and regrouping.
"Send my orders! Have Yu Jin lead the soldiers to fight while retreating, and we need to pull back to the camp immediately!"
Xu Chu, unwilling to admit defeat, protested, "My lord, Zhang Liao's cavalry has been ferocious, but their numbers are still small. We have nearly ten thousand soldiers! Even though the East Gate has weakened, if we can have reinforcements from the southwest and north gates, we can still break the enemy!"
But Cao Cao shook his head. "Gao Shun's Xian Zhen troops are too formidable. Our encirclement earlier was possible only because our forces outnumbered the enemy. If not for the pursuit of glory, they wouldn't have dared to continue fighting Lü Bu."
"Now Zhang Liao leads 1,000 cavalry attacking our rear, and the infantry at the three gates cannot return in time. If our main force collapses, it will jeopardize the rear camp. We must retreat now! This battle ends here."
Although Lü Bu's forces were small, his previous position behind the Xiapi city walls had been defensible. But once they broke out into the open fields, there was no place to hide. Even if they managed to carry some food supplies, they couldn't survive long without the proper support.
Cao Cao had every intention of capturing Lü Bu and ending this war, but he was seasoned in warfare and would not risk further exposure of vulnerabilities.
As Cao Cao finalized his orders, Cao Ren galloped off to relay them. Half an hour later, the situation at Xiapi had shifted.
The Cao Army had moved swiftly but left behind a trail of death. The families of the soldiers who had been left behind had mostly escaped the city by now, leaving Lü Bu with little but his soldiers and supplies to continue the fight.
In the face of imminent defeat, Lü Bu had begun moving his forces, even setting fire to the food supplies that couldn't be transported. The citizens and soldiers who couldn't escape were either killed by Cao's forces or left behind.
Lü Bu had no intention of staying in Xu Zhou. He gathered Gao Shun, Chen Gong, and Zhang Liao, instructing them to discuss their next steps.
After last night's battle, Cao Cao's forces were too defeated to continue fighting immediately. At most, they would send scouts to track Lü Bu's movements.
Lü Bu sat with his officers. "The conflict between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao is inevitable. This time, Cao Cao has attacked Xu Zhou to wipe us out and control the region."
"Although we managed to win last night, we are still outnumbered, and continuing to fight will not lead to victory. We can no longer stay in Xu Zhou."
He turned to Chen Gong. "Chen Gong, you tell us, where should we go next?"
Originally, Lü Bu had hoped to retreat to Bing Zhou. It was a distant, safe haven where he might find some support. However, the journey would be long, and many obstacles lay in between.
"Chen Gong, please, share your thoughts."
Chen Gong replied, "Based on the current situation, there are three possible routes for us."
Lü Bu nodded. "Speak freely, and you too, Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao, add your opinions."
Chen Gong began. "The first route is for us to cross the river and head east to Yang Zhou."
"Although Cao Cao is powerful, his influence is still mainly in the northern regions. He cannot reach Yang Zhou, which has been in chaos since the death of Liu Yao. Even though Sun Ce is growing stronger, he has yet to control all of Yang Zhou. If we manage to cross the river, we can survive and maybe even compete with Sun Ce for dominance over the region."
Lü Bu remained silent. "And the second and third routes?"
Chen Gong continued, "The second option is to head south and seek refuge with Yuan Shu."
"Though he seems powerful, Yuan Shu is a decadent ruler. His empire is unstable, and he has few loyal soldiers. It is likely he will fall within two years, and we can perhaps capitalize on his downfall to seize some of his territory."
"But Yuan Shu and Lü Bu have already fallen out, and he may not be willing to accept us. He has declared himself emperor, which makes seeking refuge with him an uncertain path."
Lü Bu sighed. "So, what of the third route?"
Chen Gong said, "The third route is to make our way through Yuan Shu's land and seek refuge with Liu Biao in Jing Zhou."
"After the death of Sun Jian, Liu Biao has become a key figure in the region. While he has enemies, his position remains strong. If we manage to join him and station ourselves in the eastern part of Jing Zhou, we might be able to gain a foothold while preventing Yuan Shu from advancing."
"But it won't be easy to pass through Yuan Shu's territory," Chen Gong added.
Lü Bu fell into deep thought.